919- What is the most effective means for improving ourselves in this life and for resisting the draw of evil?
“A sage of antiquity has told you:
‘Know thyself.’” – Socrates. – Tr.
– We comprehend all the wisdom of that maxim, but the difficulty is precisely in knowing ourselves. By what means can we do so?
“Do what I used to do when I was living on the earth. At the end of each day I examined my conscience, reviewed what I had done and asked myself whether or not I had failed to fulfill some duty and whether or not anyone might have had reason to complain about me. It was thus that I arrived at knowing myself and at seeing what there was in me that needed to be reformed. Those who every night would recall all their actions during the day, and would ask themselves what good or evil they have done, praying to God and their guardian angel to enlighten them, would acquire great strength for self-improvement, because, believe me, God will assist them. Therefore, ask yourselves about what you have done and toward what aim you acted in a particular circumstance, whether you have done anything that you would blame in others, and whether you have done anything that you would not dare profess. Also ask: if it pleased God to call me at this moment to enter the world of spirits, where nothing is hidden, would I cower before anyone’s gaze? Examine what you may have done against God, then against your neighbor, and lastly, against yourselves. The answers will be either repose for your conscience, or an indication of a wrong that you must amend.
“Self-knowledge is therefore the key to individual improvement. But, you will ask, how do we judge ourselves? Won’t we be under the illusion of vanity, which exalts our wrongs and makes them excusable? Misers think they are simply being thrifty and foresightful, while proud individuals think they are only full of dignity. All of this is quite true, but you have a means of control that cannot deceive you. When you are undecided about the value of one of your actions, ask yourself how you would qualify it if it had been done by someone else. If you would condemn it in others, it could not be more legitimate for you, because God does not use double standards for justice.
Also, seek to know what others think about you and do not neglect the opinion of your enemies, because they have no interest in disguising the truth. Frequently, God places them beside you as a mirror in order to warn you more frankly than a friend would. Therefore, let those who are truly willing to improve themselves examine their own conscience in order to uproot from it their evil tendencies as they uproot weeds from their garden. Let them balance out their moral workday like business persons do with their profits and losses, and I can assure you that there will be more profits than losses. If you can say that your workday has been good, you can sleep in peace and fearlessly wait for your awakening in the other life.
“So formulate clear and precise questions and do not be afraid to add to them; you would do very well to devote a few minutes to securing eternal bliss. Don’t you work every day to accumulate what you will need for rest in old age? Isn’t this rest the object of all your desires, the goal that enables you to endure temporary fatigue and deprivation? Well then, what is the rest of a few days, troubled by the infirmities of the body, compared to what awaits the moral person? Isn’t it worth a little effort? I know that many will say that the present is certain but the future is uncertain. That is precisely the thought that we have been charged with tearing down in your minds, for we desire to enable you to understand that future in such a way that no doubt can remain in your soul. This is why we first called your attention to us through the phenomena of nature, by touching your senses, and why later we gave you instructions that each one of you has the duty to spread. It was with this purpose in mind that we have dictated The Spirits’ Book.”
ST. AUGUSTINE
Many of the wrongs we commit pass by us unnoticed. In fact, following the counsel of St. Augustine, if we would interrogate our conscience more frequently, we would see how often we have failed without noticing it by not having scrutinized the nature and motive for our deeds. This interrogation method is somewhat more precise than using a maxim, which we do not usually apply to ourselves. It requires categorical yes-no answers that leave no room for alternatives. They are personal assertions and from the sum of the answers, we can compute the sum of the good and the evil that exists in us.
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